FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — Following an unprecedented caucus, a new mayor was chosen for the city of Fort Wayne in a historic vote Saturday.

Sharon Tucker will fill the position.

The 92 Democratic precinct chairs gathered at Parkview Field’s Lincoln Financial Event Center for 2 hours to cast their votes for the city’s next mayor. It was narrowed down to Tucker after two rounds of voting.

Tucker will serve as the city’s leader through the end of 2027.

According to the Indiana Democratic Party Chair, Tucker will be the first African American and second female mayor ever elected in Fort Wayne.

Tucker said she wants to continue the late Mayor Tom Henry’s work by keeping the city moving forward.

She said that her time on Allen County Council, and then as the representative for the 6th District on Fort Wayne City Council, has set her up to lead the city.

Tucker noted that she’s been instrumental in bringing housing and businesses to the 6th district in a way that hasn’t been accomplished in years.

She also noted her job as the executive director of Vincent Village Inc. has helped her help citizens of the city on a daily basis.

There are a few big projects Tucker would like to see finalized, including what will happen with the North River Property near Clinton and 4th streets on the north end of downtown.

The six other Democrats who were initially in the running included City Councilwoman At-Large Michelle Chambers, Palermo Galindo, Jorge Fernandez, State Representative Phil GiaQuinta, Stephanie Crandall, and Wayne Township Trustee Austin Knox.

Each candidate spoke Thursday at a town hall in front of hundreds who came to Purdue Fort Wayne to learn a little more about the mayoral hopefuls. Even members of the public, who were not able to vote in the caucus, joined the audience.

The process for Saturday’s caucus started at 10:30 a.m. when each candidate had up to five minutes to speak. The first round of voting immediately followed; precinct chairs filled out paper ballots that then had to be counted by tellers, who were split into two teams to cross-check each other’s counts and make sure the numbers were accurate.

After each round of voting, Derek Camp, the Chair of the Allen County Democratic Party, announced how many votes each candidate had, along with the elimination of the person with the lowest amount of votes. The remaining candidates each got another three minutes to speak before the next round of voting. The process repeated until Tucker received more than half the votes.

In the first round of voting following the 5-minute speeches, Galindo and Fernandez were eliminated, with Galindo receiving zero votes while Fernandez received only one. Knox and Chambers both withdrew after the first round, Knox receiving 9 votes, while Chambers received 3.

In the second round of voting, Crandall, GiaQuinta and Tucker were the remaining candidates on the ballot. Final votes were not shared publicly before Tucker was announced as the mayor-elect.

“We’re excited to have this caucus behind us and have Mayor Tucker at the helm leading Fort Wayne into the future,” Camp said. “Today, Mayor Tucker proved that she has the energy and support of our party, and we can’t wait to support her as she works to continue moving our community forward together.”

“Fort Wayne was incredibly blessed to have Mayor Henry’s leadership for nearly two decades, and Mayor-elect Tucker will continue to lead the city in a positive direction,” said Indiana Democratic Party Chair Mike Schmuhl.

New Haven Mayor Steve McMichael offered his support for Tucker in a statement sent to WANE 15.

“Congratulations to the new Fort Wayne Mayor, Sharon Tucker! I have worked well with Mayor Elect Tucker, when I was a NH City Council member and Sharon was on County Council and in my role as NH Mayor and her on FW City Council. With both of us as colleagues as mayors, I look forward to continued collaboration with her to build the best cities possible for our residents and the greater area,” McMichael said.

The mayoral vacancy followed the death of Mayor Tom Henry, who had begun a historic fifth term in January but passed away on March 28. Karl Bandemer has been serving as mayor since then. Bandemer had said from the beginning of his time in the position he wouldn’t be seeking a caucus nomination.

The swearing-in ceremony will happen Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. at the Clyde Theatre.

The city clerk sent the official notice of vacancy for Tucker’s city council seat Monday, starting the 30-day clock to hold a caucus for the position. That caucus will take place in May; the 6th district council seat will be empty until then.

As for her role with Vincent Village, the organization’s board chair sent a statement to WANE 15:

Rachel Tobin Smith will be taking over immediately as interim director so we don’t miss a beat. We also activated a search committee on the board to post the position and start the process. We have a strong board and talented staff so while Sharon’s shoes will be tough to fill, we are in good shape moving forward.”

John Christensen, board chair of Vincent Village